Walter Scheel

Walter Scheel (8 July 1919-24 August 2016) was President of West Germany from 1 July 1974 to 30 June 1979, succeeding Gustav Heinemann and preceding Karl Carstens. He was a member of the Free Democratic Party of Germany.

Biography
Walter Scheel was born in Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on 8 July 1919. He entered the Free Democratic Party of Germany in 1946, and became an MP in 1953. From 1961 to 1966 he was Secretary for Economic Cooperation, and he was party leader from 1968 to 1974. As Foreign Secretary he became a principal supporter of Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik, which contributed greatly to the resolution of the German question. From 1974 to 1979 he was President of West Germany, a post which he filled without particular distinction.